UH fundraising nonprofit loses $6.9 million

University Clinical, Education & Research Associates, a nonprofit founded to raise funds for the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, has instead turned into a drain on the system. In fact, the organization owes the UH medical school almost $7 million.

"The more we all found out about it, the more concerned we were," said Gary Ostrander, UH vice chancellor for research and graduation and the medical school's interim dean. The nonprofit was designed to generate revenue and handle research grants, billings and collections to support the faculty's academic, research and clinical activities. Instead, the medical school is covering the nonprofit's shortfalls.

The medical school's current dean, Dr. Jerris Hedges, says there has been no wrongdoing. "We have collectively inherited an entity undercapitalized at the beginning that has limped along and has required a re-infusion of capital to upgrade its operations," he told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.